ATLIT / Rendez-vous à Atlit

 

North American Premiere • Drama • France, Israel, 2014

DCP • 1.85 • Dolby 5.1 • Color • 91 min

Directed by: Shirel Amitay

Written by: Shirel Amitay

Cinematography: Boaz Yehonatan Yacov

Film Editing: Frédéric Baillehaiche

Original Score: Reno Isaac

Produced by: Sandrine Brauer

Cast: Géraldine Nakache (Cali), Judith Chemla (Asia), Yaël Abecassis (Darel), Arsinée Khanjian (Mona), Pippo Delbono (Zack), Makram Khoury (Mafous) 

International Sales: Indie Sales

 

In the fall of 1995, three 30-something French sisters, Darel, Cali, and Asia, gather in Atlit, a small Israeli town on the Mediterranean coast to clear out their departed parents’ beloved country house so it can be sold. With Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin closing in on a negotiated peace accord with the Palestinians, the sisters find themselves in an Israel torn between optimism and fatalism. Meanwhile their reunion becomes an occasion for all their shared memories of this place to come flooding back, and the siblings realize that they too are torn about what to do with their childhood home. Old resentments resurface when Darel tries to impose her will on the prickly Cali. Complicating matters considerably, apparitions begin making impromptu appearances, including the friendly ghosts of the sisters’ parents Mona and Zack, kvetching away in broad daylight. Géraldine Nakache (All That Glitters, 2010), Judith Chemla (Camille Rewinds, 2012), and Yaël Abecassis (Kadosh, 1999) make a memorable trio in this bright and whimsical family drama set against a shocking turning point in Israeli history.

 

First time writer/director Shirel Amitay is no stranger to film sets, having worked as a first assistant director on numerous features since 2000. Before transitioning to director, Amitay was a co-writer along with Pascal Bonitzer, Christine Laurent and Sergio Castellitto on Jacques Rivette’s Around A Small Mountain (2009) and on Claire Simon’s Gard du Nord (2013). For her feature debut, Amitay set out to tell a personal, intimate story mirrored against larger historical events. One informs the other: it’s only when the country is at its lowest point that the three sisters discover their greatest strengths.

 

Quotes:

“..An original and atypical first feature with three actresses in great form. (…) refreshing and galvanic.”

- Christophe Grangé ABUSDECINE.com

 “…performances are strong from both the French and Israeli cast members.”

– Jordan Mintzer HOLLYWOOD REPORTER